I don't get why theres an argument over whether she should have taken one or not. Del Rio placed the shot well but Harris guessed correctly and did well to stop it. If Del Rio did a Tobin Heath impersonation then I would understand why people are upset, but I think the credit should go to Harris for making a great save. Besides, usually PK orders are pre-determined and the 5 takers must have been the best PK takers during their practice sessions. For all we know A-Rod could be 8th on Paul Riley's PK list.
start by just blasting it dead center at the keeper and if there is a chance for one to soar then just tap it low, maybe that seems a little week, but if you can spare a few games to just go at it like that it can get you back on track, need to do that before going for perfect placement and it also gets you in mind to be ready for a mix of blows and low, soft chip taps ?
wow that's pretty rough they cut a championship game in critical minutes for a pre-game show?? i love baseball too, but come on, who needs to see yet another pre-game show they have at least 162 a year mega weak
C'mon who did you notice in the 1st half besides the squirrel?!! As it was she helped create a couple of the only great chances in 1st half like the pass across the box that Kai weakly struck. A guy at the bar watching the game also singled her out. Boquete rocks & I'll give us true fans a chance to acknowledge that when Im back on a computer & not the cellphone & can post a poll
I'm not dissing Boquete I'm just saying I was disappointed. Where were all her through balls? Where was she taking on players? Where were her shots on goal? Where were all her fakes and cutbacks? She did play better as the game wore on but then again who didn't play better as the game wore on? All I'm saying is that I was disappointed the league MVP didn't play like the league MVP. Besides, I'm not saying it was just her that was disappointing. I thought Sinclair was pretty quiet besides her goal.
I wasn't. I was just pointing out Marta's uncanny knack of winning stuff here and then her team goes kaput. Not a falsehood.
I started watching the game. When the webstream failed the second time, I gave up. Sounds like a good match. I look forward to watching the archive. WPS needs to do better with the streaming video. I remember a similar problem during last year's All Star Game. I hardly ever watch these streams. Since FC Gold Pride folded, I don't have a team anymore. I follow Bay Area WPSL instead. But the janky webcast is a huge turnoff for a league with so many problems like WPS.
Remember the year the Jacks had! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZmCiGoCE_I"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZmCiGoCE_I[/ame] 10400 for the championship game. good going rochester. and boy did they get a game. excellent ending for the wps. i thought it was only possible if wny played mj.
Question; it didn't help Philly that Kai got subbed out far too soon. Was Brittany Bock headhunting or not?
Headhunting? You need to chill. Bock went up for a challenge and towards the end extended her elbow. It wasn't intentional. It was called for a foul and thats that. Bock was actually far cleaner than I thought she'd be today. And actually it did help Philly when they subbed out Kai. Kai wasn't being very effective and you could tell she wasn't 100%. When Kai did come out things started to happen for Philly and the aggressive subs ended up helping them score the equalizer.
Like I said in the other thread on WPS awards, Sinclair should have won MVP. Boquete is a nice player and her contributions were certainly a major reason for Philly's success but most of her "MVP" performances came against depleted sides during and after the WWC. So no surprise that she wasn't a big factor against a top shelf, full strength defense.
Don't even get me started on that. If that were at PPL, a sniper would've taken that intruder out with a tranq gun. And AMBreakers, I again apologize if I offended you in a post of yours I replied to earlier tonight.
Word is, the squirrel is a magicjack publicity stunt gone wrong. It was supposed to run out there with a magicjack stuck up it's...OK, just playin'...seriously though, you can do the shots game with abby's commercials...
Well, one thing's for sure .... That squirrel has seen more game time action on the field in a WPS championship match, than Abby Wambach and Hope Solo have ever seen combined. My next door neighbor's cat has scored just as many goals as Wambach has in a WPS championship match. Zinggggg
I actually thought Krzysik had the best game, followed by Bouquete. But Engen was Flash's best... Ran the del Rio shot back several times. Harris stayed right on the line, but read the approach and took a huge--3 to 4 foot-- jump to her left before del Rio struck the ball. If del Rio had read that (as Sanderson did) she could have just trickled it right up the middle. Player who has improved the most during/due to WPS? I nominate Leigh Ann Robinson. She's even slowly losing that affected running style... Oh-- and I thought Bock's elbow to Kai was obviously intentional and deserved a yellow. Indeed I think Bock is getting to be the goon of the league-- everytime I see her she's channeling Dave Schultz...
No it is not the time to talk about the year the Jacks had. Give some damn credit to the teams that were actually in it. And if you don't have the %@%$! decency to do it, some of us will for you. It was a great final just like I knew it would be unlike some other %#$#! jerks around here. Get that straight.
While I can't claim to have seen exactly when it left her foot, we were third row by that goal, and my friend was adament that it was onside. We had noticed a number of times that the linesman who made the call had been falling behind watching the play. So this error was unfortunate, but not shocking. It was also pretty clear the referee had no idea she had already given Goebel a yellow previously. She walked away, and a Philly player had to remind her of it. I suspect she wouldn't have made a 50/50 card call like that if she had realized. But, officials are part of the game, so you have to deal with it, and the Flash did just that. After a cautious first half, the game became exciting, and both teams played hard and played a pretty even game. A great game, a solid crowd, and really it was a fitting way to end what eventually turned into a very hopeful year for the league. I heard on a soccer show in Rochester that investors with expansion team interest from CT in the west coast were on hand, so that's good news there. And, with the squrirel, it wouldn't be hard for one to get in through the fence around the perimeter of the stadium. They got on the PA and announced it was fine as a vet tech was on staff; perhaps it inhaled too many fumes from the rubber in the FieldTurf.....
I have not read this thread yet. Had company in for the game and got to the stadium just before kickoff. Sat on the side of the stadium opposite to the teams for the first time. Weather was hotter and muggier than you’d think if you just stepped out into it. The air was extremely heavy – I think it affected the energy of the fans, which was poor until the very very end. The PKs woke up the crowd and it actually made noise on its own without needing to be prompted by the PA system. The crowd energy was much higher for the last game of the season, which was Project Pink night and it was raining. Random game thoughts: All of the yellow cards seemed to happen on the far side of the field from us, so I can’t comment on any of that. Alex Morgan showed me that she is very tough – she bumped and grappled with the best of them – AND she was way better on the ball and more creative with the ball when being bumped and clutched than I knew she could be. Whitney Engen took no fluids before the second fifteen minute OT (which concerned me) – she did not even go to the team huddle – she spent the 2 minute break on the field adjusting her socks and shin guards and re-tying her shoes. Afterward, Christine Sinclair said “It’s your typical final. Very rarely are they pretty games.” I think most of us can agree with that. In the first half it seemed that the Flash wanted to win the midfield battle by playing in the trenches. As the half wore on, it seemed to me that the Flash should have recognized that the Philly midfield was their strongest area (as pretty much everyone said pre-game) and started to go over it. They didn’t. I love watching Ali Riley play. Rebecca Moros is just not the player Ali is. Moros was dealing with Kai most of the game, which I why I think she stayed in as long as she did. Every time Moros came forward she made the wrong pass. She kept feeding inside when Marta was outside with no defender closer than 10 yards. Her legs were shot by the 80th minute. I was hollering for Zerboni mid-way through the second half. Marta was very frustrated with her teammates a lot of the game – she was open wide with no defender nearby a LOT. Getting Marta the ball when she has space is imperative. The Flash was not doing it. It was obvious that Lines held off subbing too long. Riley put Adams and Sanderson in and it was clear the fresh legs, not to mention the skills of those two players, were going to make a big difference. Lines did out-coach Riley by prepping the team for PKs, including using Zerboni in the 5. Even though Barny got a piece of some of the shots, the shots were made with confidence and purpose. You could see from the body language at the center circle the Flash was mentally and emotionally way ahead of the Independence during the kicks. Only 8 months until next season!
So Riley complains that Pia destroyed A-Rod's confidence, then promptly doesn't include her in the first 5?
As a neutral, I'm glad the Flash won, as it appeared to me that BOTH their disallowed goals should have counted. Congrats to the champs. I was actually quite entertained. I'm making it a plan to check out more WPS next season.